Center’s president emeritus has lived by his own words:
‘When we strengthen others, we all grow stronger’

Contact: Michael JahrVice President for Communications, Mackinac Center for Public Policy989-631-0900

MIDLAND — Lawrence W. Reed, president emeritus of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, was given the Center’s “Champions of Freedom” award Monday night in Lansing at “An Evening with the Mackinac Center,” a dinner attended by more than 600 people and featuring both a keynote address from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and remarks by Gov. Rick Snyder.

Reed, who was the Center’s first president, serving for more than 20 years, said he was “deeply honored” by the award, though joking, “After all, about 15 years ago I created it!”

The award was conferred unanimously by the Center’s Board of Directors. It reads in part, “Lawrence W. Reed has championed the virtuous circle of self-help and civil society, maintaining, as he once wrote concerning the dozens of oppressed nations he had risked visiting: ‘We need to take time to assist our brothers and sisters who are laboring in the same vineyards, on behalf of the same causes. When we strengthen others, we all grow stronger.’”

Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman introduced Reed, saying, “Larry Reed is a good man, but he’s also a great man. He’s been my friend and professional mentor for 17 years. His resume is stuffed with great achievements that you don’t hear him blowing his own horn about.”

Reed called his time at the Center the “centerpiece” of his life.

“I am immensely proud of the Mackinac Center team from top to bottom,” he added. “When I departed in 2008 to take the helm of the nation’s oldest think tank, the Foundation for Economic Education, I had every confidence the Center would continue to set new records for support and influence, and it hasn’t disappointed me.”

A video of the event, along with a transcript of Lehman’s and Reed’s comments, is posted at www.mackinac.org/16037